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| In Latest Government Shuffle, North Korean Leader Removes No. 2 Official From Top Posts | In Latest Government Shuffle, North Korean Leader Removes No. 2 Official From Top Posts |
| (4 months later) | |
| SEOUL, South Korea — Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, has removed an official who was widely considered No. 2 in his government from top military and party posts, according to reports in the country’s state-run news media over the weekend. | |
| For the past two years, the official, Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, had been head of the General Political Bureau of the North Korean People’s Army, the second most powerful military post. Mr. Kim is the supreme commander. | For the past two years, the official, Vice Marshal Choe Ryong-hae, had been head of the General Political Bureau of the North Korean People’s Army, the second most powerful military post. Mr. Kim is the supreme commander. |
| Under Mr. Kim, Mr. Choe had gained other powerful posts; he has been a member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and a vice chairman of its Central Military Commission. | Under Mr. Kim, Mr. Choe had gained other powerful posts; he has been a member of the Presidium of the Political Bureau of the ruling Workers’ Party of Korea and a vice chairman of its Central Military Commission. |
| Mr. Choe was widely believed to have also been the second-most influential person in the government, a position he apparently cemented after Jang Song-thaek, Mr. Kim’s uncle and the previous presumed No. 2, was executed in December on charges of plotting to unseat his nephew. | Mr. Choe was widely believed to have also been the second-most influential person in the government, a position he apparently cemented after Jang Song-thaek, Mr. Kim’s uncle and the previous presumed No. 2, was executed in December on charges of plotting to unseat his nephew. |
| On Friday, however, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency disclosed Mr. Choe’s dismissal from the military post when it identified Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong-so as the military’s new top political officer while reporting on Mr. Hwang’s visit to a textile workers’ dormitory the previous day. | On Friday, however, the North’s official Korean Central News Agency disclosed Mr. Choe’s dismissal from the military post when it identified Vice Marshal Hwang Pyong-so as the military’s new top political officer while reporting on Mr. Hwang’s visit to a textile workers’ dormitory the previous day. |
| On Saturday, the news agency indicated that Mr. Choe had been stripped of his other top posts. While reporting Mr. Kim’s visit to a youth camp the previous day, the agency identified Mr. Choe as a party secretary in charge of labor groups, a relatively minor job that he held before his rapid rise to influence began two years ago. | On Saturday, the news agency indicated that Mr. Choe had been stripped of his other top posts. While reporting Mr. Kim’s visit to a youth camp the previous day, the agency identified Mr. Choe as a party secretary in charge of labor groups, a relatively minor job that he held before his rapid rise to influence began two years ago. |
| Mr. Choe was the latest in a list of top officials who had been purged or demoted as Mr. Kim frequently reshuffles the elites to consolidate his power. Mr. Choe’s demotion was dramatic because he had been the fastest-rising star under Mr. Kim’s young leadership. If anything, it showed that Mr. Kim, like his father, Kim Jong-il, was obsessed with establishing a monolithic power, allowing no true No. 2. | Mr. Choe was the latest in a list of top officials who had been purged or demoted as Mr. Kim frequently reshuffles the elites to consolidate his power. Mr. Choe’s demotion was dramatic because he had been the fastest-rising star under Mr. Kim’s young leadership. If anything, it showed that Mr. Kim, like his father, Kim Jong-il, was obsessed with establishing a monolithic power, allowing no true No. 2. |
| In his last appearance in the North Korean news media, on Saturday, Mr. Choe was still wearing the uniform of a vice marshal while attending a meeting of the Central Military Commission, during which Mr. Hwang was made vice marshal. | In his last appearance in the North Korean news media, on Saturday, Mr. Choe was still wearing the uniform of a vice marshal while attending a meeting of the Central Military Commission, during which Mr. Hwang was made vice marshal. |
| Mr. Choe was less frequently seen accompanying Mr. Kim. In the North, the frequency with which an official is seen with Mr. Kim and the rank of his name in a list of party secretaries and military generals accompanying the top leader are two of the most important gauges of his status. | Mr. Choe was less frequently seen accompanying Mr. Kim. In the North, the frequency with which an official is seen with Mr. Kim and the rank of his name in a list of party secretaries and military generals accompanying the top leader are two of the most important gauges of his status. |